United College came into being through the amalgamation of five colleges: Ping Jing College of Accountancy, Wah Kiu, Canton Overseas, Wen Hua and Kwang Hsia. Apart from Ping Jing which was founded in Hong Kong, the other four were private colleges which had moved south either from Guangzhou or its vicinity, bringing with them their students and teachers. These colleges operated in spartan premises in the evenings, relying precariously on their alumni in Hong Kong for funding. In early 1956, when Professor Grayson Kirk, President of Columbia University and Director of the Asia Foundation, visited Hong Kong and learnt of the hardship of these colleges, he suggested amalgamation. Subsequently the five colleges announced in June the same year that they would join together to form the United College of Hong Kong. United College continued to receive financial support from the Asia Foundation and the Mencius Foundation. Later, the government made available premises on Bonham Road to serve as its campus. Within a few years, it had developed into a well-established post-secondary college.
